THE STANDOUT PLAYERS OF 2016 RATED

27-Dec-2016

Tennis stars Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber displaced Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to become the top rated players of 2016. Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are nowhere in the competition. After losing to Djokovic in the French Open and Australian Open finals, Murray came back in the second half of the year to superbly outperform his rival.

The 29-year-old Briton snatched the world number one spot after winning a second Wimbledon title. He thus became the first man to hold two Olympics singles Gold medals. He concluded the year on a five-title, 24-match winning run.

The 17-time major winner, Federer, declined to 16. This is his lowest performance since 2001. This is the first time he has failed to win since 2000. The 14-time major winner, Nadal, left owing to his wrist-injury in October.

In the women’s singles, Kerber knocked off her rival Williams to win the Australian and US Opens. The left-handed 28-year-old German tennis star bookended the Grand Slam season after her 186-week reign. Sharapova, the 5-time major winner, is on a 2-year ban as she had tested positive for meldonium. She will be eligible to return in April.